When a pair of true wireless Bluetooth earbuds turn up on my desk with the name “Wicked” emblazoned across the front of the charging case in a large white font, I soon form a shrewd idea of the type of product I have on my hands and who it’s aimed at.
The market for true wireless earbuds is on fire at the moment. There are so many brands coming onto the market, many of them produced cheaply in China and aimed at fashion-conscious youngsters who may not want or appreciate the highest level of audio quality. Many young people simply want a cool pair of earphones that can deliver plenty of volume and have a cool brand or logo. Currently, Apple is cleaning up in this sector of the market with its AirPods but not everyone has the money to afford a pair. This is where the likes of Wicked’s Cron true wireless earbuds come in.
Firstly, I was wrong about the Cron earbuds being cheap and cheerful. Wicked Audio’s Cron earbuds actually sound rather good thanks to support for the higher quality AAC audio codec that’s essential for anyone using Apple iOS devices. Overall, the product feels well-made and the earbuds are housed in a fairly chunky charging case that’s about the size of a fat snuffbox. At the rear of the charging case, there’s a Micro USB charging port for topping up the battery inside the charging case or a certified Qi wireless charger can be used as well.
Next to the Micro USB charging port, there’s also a regular USB power outlet that can be used for charging or powering a smartphone, or almost anything that uses a USB charger. The earbuds can play for up to six hours between charges, and there are another 60 hours of reserve power from the battery inside the charging. Recharging time is around two hours and the case can be used to top up the earbuds or pressed into service as a 2200 mAh powerbank. I think this is probably the first pair of earbuds I can recall that also includes a powerbank. It’s nnot an especially large powerbank but good to have in an emergency when you need to make a call and your smartphone is completely flat.
The charging case is covered in a Neoprene-type of material that gives the case a stylish matte finish that’s very good at shrugging off scratches and bumps as the surface self-heals to some extent. The two earbuds nestle inside the charging case and glow with a white LED when they are being charged. There’s a choice of different-sized ear-tips provided as well as a couple of choices of “loop fins”, little protuberances that are supposed to keep the earpieces in place when the wearer in exercising. Incidentally, an IPX5 sweatproof rating means these earbuds are resistant to moisture so it should be fine for jogging in the rain or working out in the gym.
Pairing the Wicked Cron earbuds with a smartphone is easy and takes a few seconds. The two earpieces connect with each other and are ready to begin playing immediately. I did note a dropping of the signal from time to time but that could be due to a rather crowded wireless spectrum in my home. The fit of the earbuds is relatively comfortable, and the sound is far better than I had expected. There’s no trace of hiss coming from the amplifier circuits in the earpieces, plus the range from bass to treble is nicely balanced.
Each earpiece features a clickable control button that can be pressed to play and pause music, skip to the next track, or accept and reject phone calls. Unfortunately, there’s no volume function assigned to the control buttons so turning the music up or down does require picking up the smartphone and trimming the volume that way.
I tested the Wicked Cron with a couple of albums that I streamed using TIDAL’s Hi-Fi tier. The first was the excellent “The Servant’s Ball” a wonderful collection of songs produced by a six-piece band, playing tunes and music hall pieces that would have been popular in the servant’s halls of English country houses between the two world wars – think Downton Abbey. The scintillating and skilfully syncopated drumming and the beautifully open acoustic bass of Ben Nichols on this unusual album was reproduced by the Wicked Cron with finesse. These earbuds certainly possess a foot-tapping quality that makes them positively listenable.
The second album I used for my audition of the Wicked Cron was Rhiannon Gidden’s latest release “There Is No Other”, a fabulous recording made with fellow musician Francesco Turrisi, who specializes in medieval music. The combination of Giddens instantly recognizable clawhammer banjo playing style and the drumming of Turrisi’s range of percussive instruments are handled with real musicality by the Wicked Cron earbuds.
If I have a criticism, it would be the slight tendency of these earbuds to work themselves loose in the ear which can spoil the seal and therefore the bass response, making them sound a little spongey and lightweight. Perhaps if Wicked supplied some differently shaped ear-tips it might remedy the flaw.
Verdict: I may not be all that impressed by the large name and logo emblazoned on the charging case of the Wicked Cron earbuds, but their solid sound slowly won me over. The battery life is good, plus the ability to use the charging case as an emergency powerbank is to be welcomed. These true wireless earbuds offer good value for money but there’s a lot of competition out there in the market so take a look a close look at the competition too.
Pricing: $99 / £99 / €77
More info: www.wickedaudio.com
Features:
- Wireless Charging with all Qi wireless chargers
- Powerbank Charging Case
- IPX5 Sweatproof
- Secure loop fins
Specifications:
- Driver: 6mm Neodymium
- Sensitivity: 105 dB
- Frequency: 20-20,000 Hz
- Impedance: 16 Ω
- Bluetooth Version: 5.0
- Bluetooth Range: 32 ft
- Battery Life: 6 hours
- Charge Time: 2 hours
